As Eastern and Western Christians share Easter, Indonesians wary of protests around the feast

(Photo: REUTERS / Dwi Oblo)A Muslim woman casts her ballot at a polling station in a Catholic hospital in Yogyakarta April 9, 2014. Indonesians voted for a new parliament on Wednesday in a poll expected to be dominated by the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), boosting the chances of its popular candidate in a presidential election three months later.

Easter throughout the world is special this year because both Eastern and Western Christians are to celebrate the day of Christ's resurrection on the same day, April 16.

"No matter what. We will celebrate Holy Week in a shop-house where we have been holding Sunday services," he said.

The parish was established in 1996 and has some 9,400 parishioners who have held Sunday services in the shop-house.

The parish had in 2015 obtained a building permit from local authorities to build a church in terms of the requirements stipulated in Indonesian law.

With a population of some 258 million people, Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic nation, with Muslims accounting for 87 percent of the people, Christians making up almost 10 percent and Hindus 1.7 percent.

Indonesian law stipulates that church officials must provide authorities with a list of names and signatures of 90 worshippers along with written support from at least 60 local residents, as well as the approval by a village head.

Although construction began in November, Muslim hardliners have intimidated the Christians since then.

"We will work with police and local people to guard the celebrations," Pasaribu said.

The Methodist Church Indonesia in Parung Panjang has also experienced problems.

In its case, local authorities bowed to pressure by the extremists and authorities banned the congregation from holding religious activities inside a housing complex where it regularly met, a church official has said.

"We have no other place. We will hold the celebrations in the house even though there might be protests," Rev. Abdi Saragih said. "It is not easy being a Christian. Carrying a cross is our task."

Registered with the Religious Affairs Ministry since 2001, the church has 116 members, but it is still waiting for the granting of permission to build a church.

In another case Tyas Utomo, deputy chairman of the parish council at St. John the Baptist Parish in Parung, said celebrations there will be in a tent "as this is the only facility we have."

The parish with more than 3,000 Catholics has endured frequent intimidation from radical Muslims since its establishment in 2000.

Local authorities have not yet issued a permit even though the parish submitted applications in 2009 and 2011.

"We cannot guarantee that Easter celebrations will be safe as there is potential threat," Utomo said.

According to Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, religious freedom violations are still rampant in Indonesia, including the banning of religious activities.

In its latest report, the group recorded 208 violations in 2016, up from 196 in 2015 and 134 in 2014.